Sheldon Keefe’s lineup experiments should be encouraged

I think I’ve stated it here before and I’m sure most of you don’t care, but I’m not a huge Sheldon Keefe guy. That’s not to say that I think he’s a bad coach, in fact, I think he’s an above-average one. I just think the Leafs with their resources have better options available but have been able to seek a lot of comfort in the fact that Sheldon Keefe’s knowledge of how Kyle Dubas wants the players he brings in to be used is something that you won’t find easily with other coaches. That’s the perceived advantage and I accept that.
A couple of my criticisms of Keefe prior to this year is that he very much seems locked into his lineup and is reluctant to make changes and the other is that he doesn’t seem to prepare for when the Leafs plan of attack is blocked. The recent lineup blender and experimentation with the 11 forward and 7 defenseman approach has been very welcomed in my household and can fully appreciate there will be a lot of nights when it doesn’t go so hot, but this appears to be Keefe checking some of the boxes where I felt he was lacking.
Wh …

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Author: Jon Steitzer / The Leafs Nation

Goalie splits with Murray back, Making roster space, hooray for defense: Leaflets

Goalie splits with Murray back, Making roster space, hooray for defense: Leaflets

Thanks to a Sunday battle with a stomach bug I’ve decided to tackle this week’s Leaflets a day late. I’m sure you didn’t notice, but generally my collection of half thoughts goes up Monday morning instead of Tuesday. If there is one reader out there going “WHERE ARE MY LEAFLETS?” this update is for you.
That’s enough preamble, let’s get to the half thoughts.
Don’t overwork Murray
If there is a time and place to overwork Matt Murray history has taught us that it is in the playoffs. And history has also taught us that keeping him healthy enough to get to the playoffs will be a challenge too, so despite his price tag and despite the fact that he in theory is the better goaltending option compared to Erik Kallgren, I’d hope the Leafs are cautious about easing him into their lineup.
We already know that Murray will be the starter for the Leafs tonight, and while Samsonov was at practice on Monday, his return hasn’t been announced either. That possibly means seeing more of Erik Kallgren than we …

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Author: Jon Steitzer / The Leafs Nation

Establishing reasonable expectations for Ilya Samsonov

I’ve been following the Leafs for a long time. And in those many years of following the Maple Leafs one thing I can never recall seeing is a goaltender coming to Toronto and seeing their career rebound. Jack Campbell and Frederik Andersen maybe punctuated their success after establishing that they were good during their time in Southern California, but neither was truly struggling. Curtis Joseph and Ed Belfour came to Toronto and continued on with their Hall of Fame worthy careers, but no one breaks out in Toronto and that’s part of why establishing expectations for Ilya Samsonov is important.
It’s also important to note that with a new goaltending coach comes the opportunity to erase the past. Just because it hasn’t happened doesn’t mean it can’t happen now. If hope is an important part of your Leafs viewing process, I’m not going to be the person that takes away from you, and admittedly I’m very excited about Curtis Sanford as the Leafs goaltending coach too. I’ve caught myself believing he could do for goaltending what Dean Chynoweth did for special teams, and then reminded myself to dial it back a little.
Dialing …

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Author: Jon Steitzer / The Leafs Nation